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Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Happy November, all! I LOVE fall, and not just for the reasons you think I love it. I mean, yes, I love all the basic white girl things: crunchy leaves, pumpkin decor, sweater weather...and I've actually never had a Pumpkin Spice Latte, but it sounds good, so I don't hate.

Monday, April 30, 2018

Hello, all! I'm jumping back into the blogosphere today because I'm excited. Today is the last day of April, which means tomorrow starts MAY!!! Specifically, Me Made May 2018 starts tomorrow! (If you're not familiar with Me Made May, this post explains it all.) I wish I could remember how or where I first heard about Me Made May, because I owe a lot...

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

"The choice to become parents is a choice to be burden-bearers. Motherhood can change a giddy girl into a sober woman very quickly.

It means being willing to give up a good many hobbies and pastimes, the guarantee of an unbroken night's sleep, the ease of coming and going when you please.

It means a willingness to change a diaper, take out the garbage, read a bedtime story, lug the potty chair and the playpen and the car seat all over the place. It means using a whole lot of skills you haven't got, and not using the ones you know you've got."

-Elisabeth Elliot

A year or two ago, I came across the Facebook status of an acquaintance in which she explained why she wouldn't be having children, one of her reasons being that she considered it, in every way, a selfish pursuit. It amazed me...never in my life had parenthood struck me as selfish, not before or after having kids. Selfish. Selfish?

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Can I tell you a little love story? Once upon a time, there was a wandering, chronically-tardy, vaguely-inspired, sporadically-passionate, type-B girl who used lots of adjectives energy to do very little. She liked to claim a fondness for her laid-back approach to life, but in the back of her mind she was discouraged by her constantly jumbled mind and merry-go-round relationship with productivity. At the precipice of adulthood, and the verge of jumping into a lifelong cycle of "two steps forward, one step back," fate stepped in. A favorite author of hers wrote a book, "Start," which focused on goals...specifically, on how you should start them. Now, being as Type-B as she is, she didn't actually read the whole book, but she was fortunate enough to fall into an online community with a number of people who did. She was inspired and touched by the way they came together and encouraged each other to move forward with their goals. She gleaned helpful tips and practices to put into place in order to achieve her goals. She formed a few goals herself, and, for the first time in her life, even met one or two. And thus, a love of goal-setting was born.

I mean, let's be honest. I'm still type-B, and I still do a quite a bit of merry-go-rounding, and I still haven't finished the book five years later. So that's why it's a love story, and not a rags-to-riches kind of thing...I'm the same person. However, I can say that I've made intentional forward motion! Actual things that I meant to accomplish were accomplished! Do you know how big a deal that is?! Most of my forward motion in the past, if there was any, was accidental at best. Now, I'm a goal-lover! I am sooooo pleased that I'm not just sort of pin-balling around the world of productivity anymore. Now I'm kind of like...a cue ball. Moving in a purposeful direction, and possibly even hitting my mark in such a way that a few balls land in the pocket. I know that's a lot of game-riddled analogy to be throwing around, but I'm happy. All that to say, if you're intimidated by/anxious about forming and setting goals, you can't be worse than I was, and there's hope. Give it a shot!

One of my biggest takeaways from Acuff has been that goals can start whenever; waiting til the New Year or Monday isn't necessary or helpful. I wrote about that in my goals post last year, and I still find a lot of freedom in it. In fact, I intentionally delayed my goal-setting this year so that I could have time to think about them. I didn't want to get caught up in the, let's say "trendiness," of New Year's resolutions, so I thought I'd give it til the end of the month to really consider what I wanted to commit to and work toward. And that leaves us here. (This post was supposed to go out yesterday...but the Hig kids are sick. So sick. It's like house arrest. Rough.)

So, without further ado, these are the goals I've concluded on for 2017:

So that's the gist, that's the list. I didn't figure they required excruciating detail, but if you have any questions about any of my goals, please ask! One of the reasons I post these publicly is for accountability. (Another is because if I wrote them on my phone or a piece of paper, they'd be lost before the end of the year. Truth.)

Looking at them all typed out...I kind of wonder if I'm over-stepping my abilities. Think so? You don't have to answer that. But do answer this: Did you set goals in January? Are you keeping up with them? Did you meet your goals from last year? Want to be accountabilibuddies? SO many questions!

Monday, December 19, 2016

I can feel the new year creeping up on me, so of course I was thinking about my resolutions post from this past January. I plan to make a few new goals for this coming new year, so I thought a little review of how I did this past year was in order. That way, I can see where my goal-planning needs improvement. I love goals. I'm not great at meeting them, but I have definitely found that setting them helps me be more productive than not setting them. I'm a big believer in setting a high bar, and enthusiastically accepting the marks that will not quite meet that bar. Sort of like the "Shoot for the moon, land among the stars," mentality.

So, a basic recap of my goals, and whether I met them:

1.) Get Physical!

- 3 rounds of 21 Day Fix by March 28:: not met - Not stated in January, but I have gone through two health challenges that I've enjoyed, so yay!2.) Be Housewife-y! - I wanted to develop routines for keeping my house :: met

- Dan and I established "reset Saturdays" :: we halfway stuck to this - Unpacking a box a week :: NOT met. not even close.

3.) Sew Myself Silly - I wanted to participate in MeMadeMay:: met! - I wanted to be a better seamstress:: met!

4.) Hygmalion! - I wanted to add at least one item per month:: not met

- I wanted to double my profits :: met!

Overall, I can see where some of my goals lacked specificity (one of my favorite words to say aloud!) and how I can improve on goal setting, and thereafter on goal keeping! I definitely need some kind of visual reminder of my goals...because once we get into the year I get distracted. I'll be drafting up some of my goals, and will probably post them within a few weeks.

How did you do on your goals? Do you have a record of what your 2016 resolutions were? Are you thinking about goals for 2017 yet? Is seeing "2017" stressing you out?

Thursday, December 15, 2016

I have enjoyed our stay in San Antonio far more than I could have expected. My heart was fixated on basking in sunshine by the hotel's pool, but a few cloudy days sent me out and about, and I was touched by the city's life, diversity, and history. Nearly every minute was wonderful.

People love cities...they feel connected with "their town," receiving a certain sense of identity in light of the places they love. There are a handful of cities, now with the addition of San Antonio, that add to my sense of nostalgic identity. To misuse a quote from Jon Mayer: "I got a city love."

A few weeks ago at BSF (that's Bible Study Fellowship), we were discussing the new Jerusalem...a city that stands as an extension of the heart of God. Our teacher made such an impact on my heart by pointing out that a city is a good thing—full of culture, diversity, life, music, art, creativity, community. As far as housing arrangements go, city living is as close to constant relationship as you can get. And yet, we all know that there is risk, even danger, in city living. Unfortunately, when you put a bunch of people in the same place, it means you get the worst of mankind along with the best.

But God's city is different.

God's city is city as it was meant to be: constant relationship and inter-dependency on one another, constant exposure and access to the lives of our neighbors, and all of it in perfection, without any harm or danger. All of the good, none of the bad. All ofthat culture, diversity, life, music, art, creativity, and community working in perfect harmony to execute their ordained purpose of glorifying God. Can you imagine?

Thinking of such a place, and knowing that there will be one to come, expands my heart with intense longing. Thank God. I don't know that I've longed for His presence and His perfection ever before in my life like I have these past few years. It is coming. He will make everything right. He will bring unity, and in Him there will be purposeful peace. It is everything. He is everything.

On the other side of the same coin, I find myself challenged by the prospect of that constant relationship. I think back to what dorm life and roommates were like, having little to no personal space, being challenged with the opportunity to live uprightly in my relationships all the time, not having the chance to withdraw when I was over it. Ahhh, those days...full of challenge, full of growth. Do I live right now in a way that reflects my longing for God's design for relationships? Am I pursuing upright living in my interactions with others, seeking to show grace and striving for restoration and unity, despite the fact that I can easily withdraw? I don't believe that God has called us, called me, to withdraw...at least, not for the purpose of escaping relationship. He is a God of relationships. I can't settle for spacious, indirect, selfishly-protective suburban living in my heart. My desire is that God would work out that dorm-room heart in me, that I would be driven to live in open, full unity with His body.

A lot of thoughts for a post-trip wrap up. I'm so thankful to know a God that is in everything, that uses all of His glorious creation, to call and pull me closer to Him.

What about you? Are you settling for suburban living in your heart? Or are you ready to work toward all the good in dorm-room relationships, in preparation for His city living?

Monday, May 2, 2016

Hello friends! Sorry I missed you in April, but it's so good to be in May! There are a lot of things I'm looking forward to this month: getting our container garden going, putting some plants in the ground, more and more and more bike rides with the kids, and sharing all of my #MeMadeMay clothes with you! I'll post here a few times with a wrap up of some of my favorite #MeMadeMay items, but if you want to see all of them, just find me on Instagram! @jmariehig

"Drinks" at Casa Rio, the oldest restaurant on the Riverwalk -- opened in 1946.

Right now, I'm [really, really, really] enjoying a visit to San Antonio, TX, as I tagged along on a business trip with Dan. If you are looking for a really fun getaway, you should think about coming here! The main attraction in the city is the Riverwalk, which is around 3 miles long and has a number of restaurants and shops all around, as well as ferry boat tours with a lot of fascinating information about the city's history. The Alamo is within walking distance, too. Dan and I visited yesterday and I had a rather emotional and educating time taking in all the history. Add to all of that the shopping and theatre close by...I can't recommend it enough. Probably not a great trip for little kids (I am pretty sure both of our kids would have fallen in the river by now), but families with teenagers or couples that are reading this: get thee and thine to San Antonio!

In front of the Alamo.

I can't help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude...and that's been a fairly constant state of my heart for quite a few months. For the past several weeks, Hig2Point0 has been sleeping through the night, and as a cherry on top she and BabyHig have been napping at the same time...for at least two hours a day! That, my friends, is a good good thing. Sweet rest for them, sweet freedom for me. And although our weather in Michigan has been a little, well, sporadic (and very typically Michigan-y!), I have been so blessed and strengthened by the days of sunshine that we've seen.

How can she look so mad when she's barefoot in the sunshine? Silly Hig2Point0...

I have also thoroughly enjoyed being involved in a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) study of Revelation throughout this past school year, and my heart feels as if it is close to erupting with praise and wonder at the glory of God. I, admittedly, live a life of ease and luxury, compared to most of the world, but if God should take it all away, He would be every bit as worthy of my praise. I am so thankful to have experienced a growth in my love of Him. Our study will break for the summer, but I am looking forward to starting again in the fall; this time we will be in the book of John. Bible Study Fellowship is an international ministry, with study groups all over the states, so if you are looking for a solid place to study the word, I strongly suggest that you visit their website by clicking right HERE and search for a study group close to you!

This has been sort of a catch-up-over-coffee kind of post, and I'm alright with that...as long as I get to hear from you, too! How is your spring coming along? What are you looking forward to in May? What has God been teaching you? And who else is getting their #homemade clothes on for #MeMadeMay!?